Bleach: Shadows of the Past
by KennethLestrade
Summary: Two Arrancar escape Hueco Mundo and retreat to the human world, seeking the help of a certain scientist. What they got was roped into a battle for three of the most powerful spiritual objects ever created. Will they help the Shinigami, or return to Aizen?
1. Chapter 1

He sat on top of the large white dome and gazed out at the sky. He looked at the horizon, and then his gaze drifted down to the golden sands below. No matter where you looked, all you could see for miles was tan sand, and the occasional dead plant. Other than that, nothing. Nothing but dry dusty air. The man sat with one leg brought up, his foot resting on the edge of the building, with his other leg dangling over. He wore white pants, along with a long white jacket that split at his waist into two squared-off coat tails that stopped by his ankles. The jacket was unzipped to about mid-torso, and the right shoulder was near his bicep, exposing the shoulder of the black shirt he wore underneath the jacket. The man's face was expressionless, looking at at the vast sea of sand. He had light gray hair, with pale blue eyes. There was what looked like a pair of white goggles in his hair, with no lenses. At his side was a katana, with a black grip, as well as a black, x-shaped tsuba with the ends coming to rounded pints. It's sheath was black as well. He blinked the sand out of his eyes and listened as he heard someone approaching him. He glanced over his shoulder to see a female walking towards him. She wore a white jacket, that had no collar, showing her shoulders. The jacket was held in front by a single button that was located at her cleavage. She wore a black tube top that exposed her midriff. She also had on a black mini skirt, along with thigh high white heeled boots. The top of her sleeves came to a point at the tip of her middle finger, with the bottoms stopping at her wrists. She had light pink hair that would have gone to about her mid-back, if it weren't pulled into a ponytail. She had gold eyes. She had a white line above and below both of her eyes, along with what looked like two small, white combs in her hair. She too had a sword. She wore at her side. The sword looked like a wakizashi, with the blade being about eighteen inches long. The sheath was white, along with a white grip and tsuba in the shape of a 't' that came to points at the end. She sat down beside him and sighed.

"I know, but don't worry, we'll be out of here soon. I guarantee it." the boy said turning to her.

"Brother, do you really think we can? I mean, we've been planning for months, but do you think we can actually escape him?" the girl asked, pulling her knees to her chest.

"Yes sister, I do. You see, I know of someone who can help us. In the world of the living, the former head of research and development lives in a small shop in Karakura Town. I'm sure he can help us. He created that damned Hogyoku I'm sure he can do something! He has too." the boy looked away. He slammed his fist on the roof and stood up. "Come Ayame, we need to get going."

"But Nagato, we can't right now! I mean, with all these meetings, and then everyone's wandering around, we'd be caught for sure!" she shouted.

"Which is why we do it now, while they are in the meeting, and no one knows where we are." Nagato held his arm out and snapped. A small rip in reality was created. Garganta had been opened. "If we leave now, theres no way we can be caught!" He reached out towards her. She hesitated.

"Nagato, I don't know..." Ayame said, putting her hand to her lips. She looked at him and then looked away.

"Come on Ayame! We can do this! So long as we have each other we will always press on! We will always conquer everything! We will prevail!" Nagato shouted. She looked up, hope in her eyes. She smiled then grabbed his hand. He pulled her up and the two went into Garganta. The swirling energy solidfied when they stepped in, forming a solid path before them. They began to walk.

"Thank you, Brother." Ayame said quietly, and sweetly.

"Think nothing of it. Now, once we get to the world of the living, we need to find Kisuke Urahara as fast as possible." Nagato continued to walk. "I hear he lives in a small town called Karakura. According to what I learned, if he helps us, he has the power, with repeated sessions, to completely convert us into Shinigami, or at least Vizard." Nagato explained.

"So in other words..." Ayame began.

"We can finally rid ourselves of this useless hollow behavior. We can be free." Nagato said looking calmer than before. "Come on. If we hurry, we might be able to get to the world of the living quicker!" Nagato began to run. Ayame quickly followed him. Garganta began to open into the sky. He looked out and at the town below them. He saw a small girl in pigtails and a pink and white striped shirt standing next to a light post. He went to her and asked. "Excuse me miss, what is the name of this town?" Nagato asked. Ayame landed next to him. The girl hesitated.

"Um, are you going to hurt me?" the girl asked, stepping back.

"No, not at all." Ayame smiled at her. It was a kind, sisterly smile. The girl looked at Ayame, and smiled too, a small sparkle in her eyes.

"The town? Oh, this is Karakura Town." the girl said happily.

"Thanks little one." Nagato said, ruffling her hair. She laughed lightly, than skipped down the sidewalk, disappearing in the process. "Alright, so it's the right town, but where's that damned shop?" Nagato looked around. Ayame's gaze shot to her left, her eyes narrowing. "Something wrong?" she quickly grabbed the hilt of her sword.

"There's a hollow nearby, a big one by the feel of it." She said running off. Nagato followed her.

"Is it an Arrancar?" Nagato asked. He jumped up the next building running after Ayame.

"I don't think so. But it's strong, an Adjuchas, almost a Vasto Lorde." Ayame's eyes widened.

"What is it?" Nagato nearly shouted.

"I sense another hollow! The strong one! It's devouring another hollow!" Ayame shouted, running faster. Nagato too ran faster. The two came onto a scene of a large gray hollow devouring a smaller pale green one. The green one had been eaten and the gray one began to change. "We're to late!" Nagato and Ayame pulled their swords from their sheaths. The hollow transformed completely. It was a lot smaller than it had been. It's mask was vaguely human with large white horns that extended behind the head. It had sharp jagged teeth, along with red lines going down from the top of the skull. The body was still the same color. The body was more human shaped, with sharp nails and long fingers. It had black hair flowing down form the back of the mask to its waist.

"Are you...my next meal?" the hollow asked. It was rare to see a Vasto Lorde outside of the darkest depths of Hueco Mundo, so seeing a transformation into one was very odd. "You seem rather strong. Are you Vasto Lorde?"

"No." was Nagato's quick answer. "We're Arrancar."

"And we've come to eliminate you." Ayame added.

"Eliminate me? Shouldn't we be fighting together, besides, I'm just as strong as you, can you defeat me?" the hollow asked, in an almost smug tone.

"We can beat you with out having to use Resurreccion." Nagato said, returning the smug tone. The hollow seemed to be getting angry.

"You dare underestimate me?!" the hollow shot a cero from it's hand. Nagato simply slashed upwards, seperating the cero, and decipating it. The hollow shot several more at them, only to have them despelled before they could cause harm.

"Those were rather impresive. Can I show you mine?" Ayame asked. She pointed two of her fingers at the hollow and a pink ball concentrated at her fingers. The ball shot out and hit the hollow. The smoke cleared and the hollow had lost an arm. "Aww, my aim was off." she complained.

"Then I'll do it." Nagato held his sword out, pointing at the hollow. A red ball formed at the tip. He slowly drew the sword to one side, and swung in front of him, as if cutting something. The red flew forward in a small arc, and sliced the hollow's torso. Blood sprayed from it's body. Nagato frowned. "Apparently we are underestimating him." Nagato pulled his sword back.

"I'll kill you!" the hollow began shooting more cero at them. The two either dodged or sliced them in half.

"I'll use it." she said calmly. She took the tip of her blade and cut her hand. She held her hand up and began charging her cero. "Gran Rey-" the cero began glowing a bright white. "Cero!" she shouted. The cero exploded from her hand and collided with the hollow. The hollow fell to the ground, almost completely burnt up.

"How could I have lost?" it asked.

"Simple. We underestimated you, and you underestimated us." Nagato explained.

"You see, the difference between you and us, is we have a mind of our own, all you think about is your next meal. That blind hunger is what caused your downfall." Ayame continued. The hollow's head collapsed to the ground. The body disipated. The two put their swords back in their sheaths. "Someone else is coming." Ayame said turning in the opposite direction. Nagato looked, noticing the fluctuating spirit pressure. They both stood and waitied. Soon a boy in Shinigami garb with a large sword on his back appeared. The boy's eyes were brown with his hair being a vibrant orange. He took the large cleaver from his back, the cloth falling revealing the large black sword.

"Are you hollows?" he asked.

"Who wants to know?" Nagato asked calmly.

"I do. Substitute Shinigami Ichigo Kurosaki." the boy responded.

"Substitute? So you say you aren't aligned with the Soul Society?" Nagato asked.

"Heh, you'd think I would be, and yet next to no one there likes me." the boy said placing the blunt end of the sword on his shoulder. "But I guess that's off topic. I asked you, are you hollows?" Ichigo pointed the blade's tip at them again. Nagato's hand went to his sword's grip. Ayame put her hand on his and looked into his eyes. Her look was intense yet calming. Nagato relaxed and moved his hand away.

"No, we aren't. We are simply people looking for someone. If you are a shinigami, substitute or not, you should know of him. His name is Kisuke Urahara." Ayame said calmly, looking at him. Ichigo cocked an eyebrow.

"What in hell do you want with hat and clogs? He's pretty useless now." Ichigo said confused.

"We just need to find him, that's all. We need to talk to him about something." Nagato said in a cool, stern voice.

"Well, the Urahara Shop is on the other side of town. If you wanna get there soon, you'll need to run." Ichigo said looking off to his left.

"Come on Ayame!" Nagato shouted, jumping off. A small static sound was heard.

"Wait! Nagato!" Ayame went to grab his arm, but just missed him. "Dammit all. Thank you Shinigami." Ayame bowed and jumped away. Another small static sound was heard.

"What the? Sonido?! Hey get back here!" Ichigo shouted going after them. Ayame turned and saw the boy coming after them.

"Brother, he's coming back!" she shouted. Nagato turned and glared at him.

"I didn't want to hurt you, but stay out of our way!" Nagato quickly pulled out his sword and slashed at Ichigo. A red arc shot out at him. Ichigo dodged it quickly. "Damn." Nagato held up his fist, and it began to glow a dark red color. He thrusted it forward as several bullets flew from his hand at Ichigo, going faster than the cero had.

"Can't dodge. Damn!" the blasts connected, sending Ichigo to the ground.

"Heh, guess he couldn't keep dodging. We need to get there faster! Step it up Ayame!" he shouted over his shoulder. Ayame huffed at him and ran faster. After a few minutes they arrived outside a building with ta sign that read 'Urahara Shop.' "This must be it." Nagato took a step forward. He lifted his hand and felt a glass like barrier. "Hmm, Kyomon. It's strong on the outside, but weak on the inside. Someone knew we were coming." he tapped it with his fist, like it were a door.

"Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Inferno and pandemonium, the sea barrier surges, march on to the south! Hado 31! Shakkaho!" Nagato and Ayame turned towards the door as a red light shot out of it. The two jumped out of the way as the barrier shattered and the orb exploded. The two Arrancar landed and looked at the door. A large man walked out in rectangular glasses, a white shirt, and a dark blue apron. He had dark skin and dark hair that was in dredlocks and pulled back. "What is it you want here?" the man asked. Nagato smirked.

"So, it was true." he said, a sly grin gracing his face.

"What was?"

"The former captain of the Kido Corps. is here." Nagato said narrowing his eyes. The man was taken back by his comment. "Judging from your reaction I'm assuming I'm correct. You are indeed former captain of the Kido Corps., Tessai Tsukabishi." Nagato pulled his sword from it's sheath, and pointed it at him.

"You know of me and yet you still wish to fight? Carriage of Thunder. Bridge of a spinning wheel. With light, divide this into six! Bakudo 61! Rikujokoro!" Tessai shouted. Beams of light began to form around Nagato.

"Heh, not so fast." Nagato closed his eyes and held up his arm. "Bakudo 73. Tozansho." he said calmly. The beams shot at him, only to be stopped by a strange pyramid shaped barrier.

"Kido?! But how?!" Tessai shouted in surprise.

"Because, we might have dominent hollow reiatsu, but we still have hybrid reiatsu, allowing us access to Shinigami powers as well as hollow powers. Like kido for example." Ayame explained. "Like this." she held up her hand as a yellow energy began to form. "Sprinkled on the bones of the beast! Sharp tower, red crystal, steel ring. Move and become the wind, stop and become the calm. The sound of warring spears fills the empty castle! Hado 63! Raikoho!" a large wave of yellow energy shot from her hand. Tessai quickly held up his hand, his palm facing her.

"Bakudo 81! Danku!" a large rectangle formed before him, blocking the energy blast. "It seems you can form very potent spells even without incantations. But since you aren't true shinigami, they move slower than normal." Tessai explained. "I ask again, do you want to fight me even though you know who I am."

"Yeah I do!" Nagato held his fist back as dark red enrgy formed on it.

"Bala?!"

"Brother enough!" Ayame grabbed his arm and threw it downward. "I know we have to defend ourselves, but we came here for a reason! I'm sorry for attacking you, but we need to see someone. I believe him to be your employer, Kisuke Urahara." Ayame explained looking at Tessai.

"You wish to see Mr. Urahara? Are you here to harm him? Or turn him in to the Central 46?" Tessai asked relaxing a bit.

"Not at all. We need his help." Ayame took a few steps towards him. "We need to speak with him. We need to know about his research, and see if it can help. I believe you've heard of the Hogyoku." Tessai's eyes widened.

"How do you know of that?! Who are you and what do you want with Mr. Urahara?!" Tessai held up his hand again.

"My name is Nagato Fujimoto. And this is my sister, Ayame Hayashi. We are here to talk to Kisuke Urahara as simple people, nothing more." Nagato explained.

"No you aren't. You are probably arrancar sent here by Aizen to kill Kisuke. Or retrieve him to revive the Hogyoku." Tessai slammed his hand on the ground "Hado 11! Tsuzuri Raidon!" he shouted. Lightning danced across the ground. It connected with the two and shocked them. Both shouted in pain. Nagato collapsed. Ayame looked at him.

"Na...gato." she said weakly. She too collapsed and embraced unconsciousness.

* * *

Nagato slowly opened his eyes to find himself in a dark room. He went to move but found himself unable to do so. He looked to his left and saw both his zanpakto and Ayame's. He looked down and saw his body covered in black fabric. He looked over his shoulder and saw Ayame's pink hair. He looked at her arms and noticed they were covered in metal bindings.

"Comfortable sir?" he heard a voice. He looked to his right and saw a man in green standiing in the doorway. He had on a striped hat that obscured his eyes, and he held a small fan in one hand, and a cane in the other. Nagato tried breaking free again. "I'm afraid you can't break free, you see thats-"

"Bakudo 91, Kin. I know what it is. My question is why is it being used on me?" Nagato glared at the man.

"You see, I might have been a rather trusting man before, but I'm not so gulible anymore. I'm not the same person I was back then." he fanned himself as he sat next to Nagato. Nagato looked back at Ayame and noticed she was still out cold.

"Kisuke Urahara I presume." Nagato said glaring at him again. Kisuke smiled and nodded. "Then you should know why I'm here."

"You claim to be needing my assisstance. But we can't be to careful can we?" Kisuke said tilting his hat back revealing his eyes.

"I suppose not." Nagato continued his glare. Kisuke looked him into his eyes. He looked up and down his face then turned his attention to the goggles on his head.

"These goggles, these are whats left of your hollow mask, aren't they?" Kisuke asked, running his fingers around the rim. Nagato shook his head, attempting to shoe away the hands. "And the lines on her face are hers?"

"You are right on mine, hers, not as much." Nagato looked away.

"Oh?"

"Her hair. Their in her hair." Nagato said quietly. Kisuke lifted a small bit of her hair, revealing the small comb of hollow teeth in her hair.

"So they are. So, tell me, what's your story?" Kisuke said happily.

"What do you mean my story?" Nagato asked, flinging his head in Kisuke's direction.

"Why can you use more advance Shinigami powers, where other Arrancar can't? How did you come into being? Why did you come into being I suppose is a better question." Kisuke fanned himself again.

"Mr. Urahara?" said a small voice outside the room.

"What is it Ururu?" he said, turning. The door slid open and a small girl stood in it's doorway. She had dark hair pulled into pigtails. Her eyes were a grayish-violet color. She looked rather meloncholic.

"Um, that orange headed boy is here with Miss Rukia." she said quietly, looking at the ground.

"Ah. I see. I'll speak with you later Nagato Fujimoto. I hope your sister wakes up soon." Kisuke stood and walked out of the room. Ururu closed the door, leaving him alone.

"Ayame? Ayame! Wake up!" he shouted quietly. Her eyes began to open. She strained to see in the light.

"Na-Nagato? That you? What's wrong? Why can't I move?" Ayame said, trying to stand up.

"It's Bakudo. We're stuck here unless we can break free. I have an idea. Use Tozansho to protect yourself. I'm going to use Hakufuku. If I do this right, I'll be able to get us both free."

"Alright brother. Bakudo 73, Tozansho." Ayame concentrated, and the energy barrier formed around her. NAgato closed his eyes and began to concentrate. A white energy radiated from the metal bindings on his arms.

"Haku..." he began to say. The energy grew larger, "...fuku." The energy broke the bindings, and his arms were free. He grabbed his sword and slashed at the fabric. It shredded. "Alright, Ayame, release the barrier, I'll get you out." Ayame nodded. The pyramid vanished. He slashed at her, the red arc cut the fabric. "Turn." Ayame stood and turned. He pointe dhis fingers at the bindings. "Hado 4, Byakurai." A light shot from his fingers and broke the bindings.

"Thank you brother. Shall we get what we came for?" Ayame picke dup her sword and put it back on her side. Nagato nodded, putting his sword back at his side. They hrew open the door and saw no one. They went to the next door and listened.

"I'm telling you! They are trying to kill us!" shouted a familiar voice. It was Ichigo.

"Relax Ichigo, they aren't going to hurt us. If they were going to kill me they would've. Do you honestly think a Kido performed by me without an incantation couldn't be broken? Even if it is level 99, with my poor skill and no incantation, it wouldn't have lasted." Kisuke explained.

"Ichigo, thats not why I'm here." said a new voice. Maybe this Rukia they mentioned.

"What?! Then what is?!" Ichigo shouted.

"Captain Ukitake said that Head-Captain Yamamoto told him to ask me to get former Captains Urahara, Shihoin, and Tsukabishi to come to the Seireitei." she said calmly. Nagato and Ayame gasped quietly as their eyes widened.

"It's about time you two got out. come in." said another female voice. The two stood up quickly and slid open the door. The two bowed and apoligised. "Damn, your like teenagers, only worse." said the voice. The two looked up and saw a woman in an orange sweater and tan arm and leg coverings. She had violet hair pulled up into a ponytail, held by a thin red string. Her gold eyes looked bored and annoyed by their prescence.

"Hey! I'm a teenager you stupid cat!" Ichigo shouted.

"Relax Ichigo! Just stop shouting, and listen to Rukia." the violet haired woman glared at Ichigo.

"Thank you Yoruichi." Rukia said nodding at her. "As I was saying. The Seireitei want's the three of you to come back, apparently we need your help with some matter." Rukia continued, taking a sip of tea.

"We're fugitives Rukia, we can' go back." Yoruichi continued. She looked at the two Arrancar. "Sit." the two lookedat her and saw she was speaking to them. The two took a seat next to Urahara. "Anyway, they've all gotten along without us in the past, why do they need us now?"

"I don't know, but the order is from Head-Captain Yamamoto. He said he needs you." Rukia said again.

"We'll go." Kisuke said calmly.

"Kisuke, you sure?" Youruichi asked. He nodded.

"Yamamoto doesn't hold us in contempt for what we did. He doens't hate us, if he did he would've sent someone to capture us by now. He's known where we hiding for centuries." Kisuke picke dup his fan.

"Alright. Rukia, do we have to go through the Dangai or do you have a Hell Butterfly?" Yoruichi asked standing.

"I came with a Hell Butterfly. I was also asked to bring Ichigo with." Rukia stood, a small black butterfly fluttering by her shoulder. Ichigo stood and nodded. She unsheathed her sword and pointed it in fornt of her. A large sliding wooden door appeared. She turned her sword like it were a key, and the door opened. The small group or people stood standing still.

"Hold on folks!" Kisuke announced. He took his cane and poked Yoruichi's head with it. Her normal body fell, leaving her soul standing up right. Yoruichi leaned torwards Rukia, who handed her a red glove with a skull emblem on it.

"Your turn!" she shouted, slamming her palm into his forhead. His body fell and he stumbled a bit.

"That hurt!" he complained.

"Get over it." she tossed the glove back to Rukia, who caught it. The small group began walking into the door.

"Wait a minute!" Nagato shouted, standing. The group turned to him. "Either help us or we will hurt you and burn this place down!" he shouted, charging a bala blast.

"Nagato-" Ayame was cut off.

"No sister! We came for something and we will get it!" He shouted. He held his fist back when something hit him. He looked to see his wrist had been grabbed by Yoruichi. "How in hell?" he said in astonishment.

"Hanki. I hit you with a counter hit of spiritual energy, in both rotation and on the opposite end of the power spectrum." she said calmly.

"Damned woman, You used shinigami reiatsu to counter hollow reiatsu. Clever bitch." Nagato glared at her. He jumped away from her. He gripped the hilt of his sword and pulled it from it's sheath. "I didn't want to have to use my Zanpakto, but if I have to..." Nagato pointed his sword down, with the blade facing his body.

"No Nagato!" Ayame shouted, "If you do they'll find us and you could hurt yourself! You know how stressfull it is for you to use it!" Ayame wrapped her arms around his shoulders, tears going down her face. "We've made it this far, don't screw it up now please." Tears began to fall down her face. "You said it yourself, we can do anything so long as we're together. You don't need to try and prove that your worthy. I know you are. If he doens't help, we can always find a way, I know we can." The four people watched as Nagato slowly calmed and put his Zanpakto away.

"I'm sorry I scared you Ayame." Nagato said quietly. "I didn't mean to." She said she knew he didn't. "I'm still sorry though." Ayame slowly nodded. Her tears continued. "I'm sorry we caused you any trouble. Mr. Urahara, if you can help us, please let us explain ourselves, if not, then please say so, so we can leave and stop causing you any trouble." there was a long silence.

"Rukia, Ichigo." Kisuke said calmly, seriously. The two teens looked at him and asked what he wanted. "Go on ahead without us. Tell the Head-Captain that we couldn't come with, but we will help. Alright? I need to stay and talk with our new qcquintances." Kisuke still sounded serious. Nagato and ayame looked at him with soft smiles.

"Urahara," Ichigo began, "you sure it's okay to trust them. They attacked me after all. Not to mention they took down a powerful hollow within a minute. They just don't look like they can be trusted is all I'm saying." Ichigo said, glancing at the two every few words. Nagato clenched his fists.

"Relax Brother." Ayame said quietly. He looked at her then did so, and let his arms fall be his sides. "I understand your concern. We don't look trustworthy. As a show that we won't hurt you, here." Ayame took her Zanpakto from her side and held the sheath at it's center. She streched her arm out, holding her sword before her. "Take it. I can't hurt you without it." she set it on the ground before them. Ichigo looked at bit stunned. There was another long pause.

"Come on Ichigo." Rukia said, begining to walk through. "They've proven they meant us no harm. We need to find out what's so big that the Head-Captain wants a fugitives help." Rukia began to walk through again. Ichigo looked back, then walked into the gate.

"So, tell me, what is it you want from me?" Kisuke sat back down, telling them to do the same. Nagato spoke.

"We want our freedom." he said strognly.

"From Aizen?" Kisuke asked.

"From Aizen, from HJueco Mundo, from it all. We want our own lives." Nagato said looking away. "Thats why we're here. We need your help. We know you made the Hogyoku, and we want you to find some way for us to either change us into Shinigami or back into Hollows and purify us, so we can finally be free."

"No." was Kisuke's quick response.

"What do you mean no!? You Shinigami are all the same! You say you help the souls who need it, yet when one comes to you for help you turn them away! It's because we aren't normal souls isn't it! It's because we're half hollow! First you did this shit to th eVizard and now us!" Nagato ranted. Kisuke shot thme a glare and stood.

"Don't say the Vizard weren't helped. The Vizard were my friends, I did all I could to help them. They chose to hate Shinigami, they weren't forced to. The reason I'm not helping you is because I can't! At least not without my lab and the right materials to create another Hogyoku." Kisuke sounded somewhat angry. He glared at the two sitting near him.

"Then why didn't you go back with them to the Seireitei? The Science Department is still up, you could create another one." Nagato said in a pleading tone.

"I'll need to think about it. In the mean time, you two can't be bothering me, so-" Kisuke stood up. "Tessaaaaaai!" Kisuke chimed.

"What are you doing?" Ayame asked standing and taking a few steps back. Soon the large man was standing in the doorway.

"Disintegrate, you black dog of Rondanini! Look upon yourself with horror and then claw out your own throat! Bakudo 9! Geki!" Tessai shouted. A red light engullfed the two.

"Damn! Paralyzer!" Nagato shouted. He stiffened, unable to move.

"Bakudo 30! Shitotsu Sansen!" Tessai shouted. Three spikes poinned the two in place.

"Damn...you..." Nagato said through gritted teeth.

"Brother...relax, we...can do this." Aymae said, trying to sound calm. Kisuke stood in front of Ayame and Tessai stood in front of Nagato. They both pointed at the people in fornt of them.

"Hado 1, Sho." they both said calmly. The two Arrancar shot back through the door and into the room they were previously in. They stumbled and toppled to the floor.

"Bastards" Ayame huffed.

"We can wait." Nagato said quietly. The two then lay on the ground in silence.


	2. Chapter 2

What seemed like hours passed in the small room. The two lay in the room facing opposite walls. What seemed like hours turned to days. They soon realized that it had only been a few hours, as the sun's final rays began to leave the room and night began it's dark embrace. A small static sound was heard. The girl rolled onto her back and sat up. She tapped the boy's shoulder and the same static sounded. He sat up. The two sat in silence for a short while in the darkness. "Brother?" she asked.

"Yes Ayame?"

"How were we born?" she inquired.

"What do you mean?" he answered with his own question.

"How did we become like this. I want to remember." she said, looking at her hands.

"No." was his terse answer. "You shouldn't be asking to know about that."

"But I wish to know." she replied, glancing over her shoulder.

"You should be lucky you can't. I do, and I want to forget it." Nagato pulled his legs to his chest and set his head on them.

"But that's precisely why I wish to remember." Ayame turned to face him.

"Please stop asking me Ayame. I don't wish to talk about it." Nagato said. His voice was a bit muffled by his knees. "That story is one that I want to forget, and I don't wish for you to remember it." he continued. "So please just drop it."

"You know if I really want to get it out of you I can." Ayame said getting to her knees. "So tell or I use it." She began to reach her hands towards Nagato. The boy quickly got into a crouching position and turned towards her.

"You couldn't. Remember what happened last time? You wound up dangling from the window in your room." he smirked. She simply frowned a bit. She fell back into a sitting position and leaned back on her hands.

"Fine, I suppose you don't need to tell me. So, how do we know we can trust these people? I mean, we know he can help, but will he? I mean, what if he says he will and he changes us into something worse, or he starts doing sick experiments on us! Or what if he injects us with DNA from animals to see what they do and in the end we wind up as birds or something and then we have to-!!" Ayame ranted on until Nagato clamped his hand over her mouth.

"Ayame, zip it! We're not suppose to be able to move!" He said in a hoarse whisper. Nagato stood and walked to the door. He felt it and it seemed to be safe. He opened the door and saw Kisuke Urahara sitting at a table drinking tea. Nagato motioned for Ayame to come to him. She stood and felt in forn of him, and felt an invisible wall.

"Helloooooooooooooooo?" Ayame sung, tapping on the invisible wall. Kisuke put down his glass and looked over his shoulder. He smiled and waved at them. Nagato pushed pass Ayame.

"Did you forget Kyomon protects this room but we can break it from in here?" Nagato smirked. He held his open hand at the glass and a red sphere shot from it. The sphere hit the wall. "See? You can't hold us." But the ball didn't shatter the wall. Ther sphere bounced off and back at Nagato. "What the hell?!" Ayame quickly cut through the cero before it hit.

"Silly child! I didn't cast it on your room, I casted it on mine!" Kisuke stood and fanned himself, laughing the whole while.

"But how? Kyomon can only be cast from outside the area of effect." Ayame put her finger to her lips and looked at him.

"That's why he's there!" Kisuke said happily. Nagato and Ayame looked confused. "Oh, I'm sorry. Oh Tessai!" the two Arrancar turned and saw nothing. Soon a small distortion formed on the back wall. Soon, there were numerous distortions that soon became one, and took the form of the large bespectacled man, sitting cross-legged on the floor. "It's called Kyakko."

"It hides the user's spiritual pressure while also hiding him from sight." Tessai said from the back wall. Nagato looked confused. "You've never heard of this particular Kido have you?" Tessai asked. Nagato scowled.

"I only know of the Kido that have been used on me by Soul Reapers like you who have tried to kill me and my sister." Nagato said glaring at Tessai, then back at Kisuke. "So, you gonna let us out, or keep us locked up like prisoners?"

"Well you are my prisoners right now." Kisuke said calmly. Nagato's eyes narrowed. "So I could keep you locked up, but then you would trust me even less, wouldn't you?" Ayame nodded. "Then I shall let you go." Kisuke took his cane and pointed the end at the barrier. On the bottom was a small skull engulfed in blue flames. He slammed it into the barrier and it cracked. He pulled back and slammed into it again. This time it shattered. Kisuke moved to the side and motioned for them to come in. "Ichigo, Rukia and Yoruichi should be back soon. They will tell me what they need my help with, and then I can help you two. Alright?" Kisuke smiled at them. Nagato and Ayame nodded.

"Thank you Mr. Urahara." said Nagato.

"How about some tea?" Kisuke asked gleefully. Ayame and Nagato exchanged glances, then nodded. "Ururu!" Kisuke chimed. The small girl appeared with a tea pot and three cups. She set them down and filled them. She bowed then left. The three picked up their cups and took a sip.

"Thank you again. I'm glad you are willing to try and help." Ayame said in a quiet, calming tone. Kisuke smiled brightly at them. They all sat there for some time, talking to each other. Well, Kisuke did most of the talking. Ayame seemed quite infatuated with his tales of his childhood and, what Nagato speculated to be, fake tales which supposedly explained why certian things were certian ways. Nagato was quite bored, and took to looking out the window and counting how many stars he could see in the small square. "Really?! Then what happened?!" Ayame sounded like a small child. Nagato hadn't caught what she was asking about. He just returned to his task of counting the stars. He had lost count and had to begin again. Having yet again finished his task, Nagato turned his attention back to Kisuke and Ayame.

"And that's how I saved Christmas and brought joy to the children of the Rukongai!" Kisuke said triumphantly. Ayame clapped, displaying another child-like behavior.

"Wow! That's amazing Mr. Urahara!" she said with eyes as big as dinner plates.

"Please, how in hell could you have saved Christmas?" Nagato said leaning towards the former captain.

"Well, here's how!" And the scientist was off again. Ayame's child-like curiosity caused her to just sit there and listen as the two men bickered about how something was or wasn't contradicting, or how it had nothing to do with the subject at hand. After another short while, the sun began to rise again. "And that's exactly how it happened!"

"Are you kidding me?! That makes no sense! How could you save Christmas if you did this January, as in, a month after Christmas!" Nagato shouted, slamming his fists on the table.

"Actually it was only January nineth, so it was only a little more than two weeks after Christmas!" Kisuke chirped.

"That still doesn't explain-!" Nagato was cut off by a light glowing behind him. He turned and saw the same wooden door the three Soul Reapers left in. The doors slid open and revealed The three Soul Reapers who had left, and a new edition. The man was slightly taller than Ichigo, with red hair pulled back and held by a black string. He had dark eyes and black lines coming from his forehead, which was covered with a white cloth, to his eyebrows.

"So, you let them out." Yoruichi said looking at the two Arrancar.

"Yes I did. So, what exactly did Yamamoto want?" Kisuke asked. The four sat around the table.

"Before anyone says anything, who's the loon with the towel around his head?" Nagato asked blandly, pointing at the red haired man.

"Why you little-! Who are you anyway you little punk?!" he bellowed.

"I asked first, so you say first." Nagato said calmly. The red head growled.

"Lieutenant of the Sixth Division, Renji Abarai. Who are you?" Renji said through gritted teeth. Nagato smirked.

"Former member of Sosuke Aizen's Arrancar Army, Nagato Fujimoto." Nagato continued the bland tone. Renji's eyes widened and he quickly grabbed his sword from next to him. He pulled the sword from it's sheath and it instantly changed. The blade widened and part of it became black. Several prongs jetted out from it's many segments. "Please don't fight in this nice man's building. He's been very kind to me." Nagato stood and pushed the blade to the side. It was quickly shoved in his face again.

"An Arrancar is not welcome here!" Renji shouted.

"You're a hot-headed one aren't you." Nagato sighed. "I've already been here for a day, don't you think if I was going to do something, I would've already?"

"Some of you are smart, some of you aren't. You might be planning something." Renji's eyes narrowed. Yoruichi went to stand. Nagato stopped her.

"No thank you Miss Yoruichi. I can handle this." Nagato jumped out the window, with Renji on his tail. Nagato ran across the open area. He placed his hand on the ground.

_"It's hollow underneath!" _he thought. He turned to see Renji in the air with his sword over his head. Nagato went to his side, only to see he forgot his sword. "Damn."

"Howl! Zabimaru!" Renji called out. The sword extended and flew towards Nagato. He quickly dodged the attack, causing it to crater the ground. Nagato appeared behind Renji, and kicked him, sending him flying through the air. Renji bounced through the air, then got to his feet, and stood in the sky. He looked towards where he was, and saw a red glow coming from below. He ran back and saw Nagato standing above the crater Renji created, and was firing several cero at it. "I have you now!" Renji shouted. the sword came crashing down and narrowly missed Nagato. It crashed into the crater. The ground bellow broke apat, revealing a hole in the ground.

"Come and get me!" Nagato shouted jumping in. By this time everyone was outside watching. Renji had gone through the hole after him.

"Where'd they go?" Ayame asked.

"They broke into the training ground." Yoruichi said. Kisuke nodded.

"We'll need to fix that soon. Come on now, don't want them killing each other or damaging my training ground." Kisuke and Yoruichi jumped in too, soon followed by Ichigo, Rukia, and Ayame. The arrived in a large, open, rocky plain. There was a false sky above their heads, with the hole situated high above. They heard a loud crash coming from their right. They looked and saw a giant boulder crumbling.

"Nagato!" Ayame shouted. The silver haired boy turned as his sword was thrown through the air. He caught it and quickly unsheathed it.

"Now, become shreds in the wind!" Nagato swung the sword sparadically in multiple directions. Several red arcs shot from his sword at high speed. They crashed with the rocks surrounding him and Renji, causing many of them to break apart. Renji held his Zanpakto in front of him as a defense. Ayame watched from her place and put her hand to her chin.

"Perhaps I shouldn't have done that." Ayame mused out loud. She looked at the short girl with black hair. She leaned next to her ear and whispered, "You wanna take the red head, I'll get my brother?" Rukia jumped a little at her voice. Rukia turned, and the two girls shared a grin of mischief. Both picked up a rock and threw it at their respective targets. Both hit them square in the skull. The two boys turned to face their attackers, and started shouting words no one could really understand. Ayame and Rukia ran to them and kicked them to the ground. Nagato landed on his back, but quickly got into a sitting position. Renji landed on his stomach, but wasn't as fast as Nagato. Before Renji could move, Rukia had started stompping on his back.

"Gah! Rukia! Stop it!" Renji shouted at the girl, who was clearly not listening.

"That isn't why we're here Renji!" she shouted back.

"That's not why we're here either Nagato." Ayame said turning to him.

"He attacked me first! I'm not gonna sit back and get my ass kicked!" Nagato protested. Ayame growled and took her sword from her side. "Oh shit." Nagato seemed to shrink in her angry prescence. She lifted the sheath high above her head and brought it down quickly, smacking his skull.

"You damned baffoon! I should kill you for starting this! You didn't have to run away! If you had just kept your ass still, we could've worked this out without having to hurt anything!" Ayame was shouting, smacking his head the whole time. Everyone one watched in shock and amusement as the seemingly calm girl smacked her brother's head around. They then turned to the other two, as Rukia continued to stomp on Renji's back. No one did anything, they just stood back and watched. After around fifteen minutes, the two ceased and dragged their victims back to the group. The made their way back above ground into the Urahara Shop, to continue their meeting.

"Alright, back to business, Rukia, what exactly is it that Yamamoto wants with us?" Kisuke asked, seriously.

"Right, well, it seems, something is happening in Hueco Mundo." Rukia explained.

"Is it Aizen again?" Renji asked.

"Ask those two," Yoruichi said pointing at the two Arrancar. "the Cazaron Espada." Everyone looked at the two, who seemed a bit stunned.

"We're being hunted already." Nagato said, clenching his fists in his lap.

"What are the Cazaron Espada?" Ichigo asked.

"You see," Ayame began, "there are four types of Espada. There are the Espada, the top ten warriors of Aizen's army, the Privaron Espada, the one's who used to be in the top ten of his army, but where demoted. There's also ones like us, the Cazaron Espada, the ones who betrayed Aizen and are now being hunted. The task of hunting us down and killing us is given to a small group of Arrancar known as the Destruyeron Espada. So as of now, they have probably already been deployed into the different plains of existence to try and kill us, so we don't interfere with his plans."

"And you know what those plans are?" Yoruichi asked. Nagato and Ayame nodded.

"Well what are they?" Ichigo asked, raising his voice a bit. There was a long pause. Ayame looked at Nagato who was staring at the floor. He raised his head.

"I'm sure you all know what the Sokyoku is." Nagato said looking around.

"Yeah, it was one of the forms of execution in the Seireitei before it was destroyed by Captains Ukitake and Kyoraku at Rukia's execution." Renji put his arm on the table and leaned forward. "What does that have to do with this?"

"Well, some of you may or may not know this, but there are similar weapons in all the plains of existence." Nagato continued.

"What?! There are?!" Ichigo shouted. Rukia and Renji both looked surprised.

"Yes, but you two already knew that didn't you?" Nagato turned towards Kisuke and Yoruichi, who both nodded. "It's classified to Captains of the Gotei Thirteen. Anyway, Aizen's plan is to take these three weapons and use their power for himself." Nagato concluded.

"He has several small armies of Arrancar looking for them, along with those armies, each Arrancar is high enough to summon their own force of hollows. So in all truth, we're facing armies of massive proportions, with the massive power to match." Ayame added on. The small group was silent for a short time. Ichigo finally stood.

"Well then what are we doing?! Let's go find these things and get them before Aizen does!" he shouted enthusiastically.

"Ichigo, it isn't that simple." Yoruichi said calmly. "We have no clue where these things are, and we have no way of telling which one Aizen will go for first. We need to think this one through before we go doing anything irrational. Where do you think he'll strike first?" Yoruichi turned to the two Arrancar.

"It seems most sensible he goes after the on in Hueco Mundo, it's closest and he'd be able to use it's power quicker, which means he could power his armies more before sending them to get the others in the other plains of existence." Nagato explained. "At least, I think that's what he's doing."

"So, you are saying we go to Hueco Mundo, with absolutely no clue as to how we are going to find these things, and hope we don't wind up dead because of Aizen and his Hollows?" Renji asked.

"I guess so." Nagato said, looking away.

"Sounds brilliant!" Kisuke shouted. He pulled out his fan dramatically and put on a large smile. "Well then! We shall call Yamamoto and ask him to send us a squad of able bodied Soul Reapers other than the three we already have! And since you two seem to know most about Aizen's plans, you'll be helping out as well." Kisuke looked at the two Arrancar, who looked stupefied.

"Urahara, what do you mean we only have three Soul Reapers?" Rukia asked.

"Well, you, Ichigo, and Renji of course." Kisuke explained. Rukia's face distorted into an angry frown.

"You're a Soul Reaper too you idiot!" She shouted at the older man. He simply grinned.

"As promised I will help you, but later. Right now, we need you're help in stopping Aizen." Kisuke turned to face them.

"We will. It's not like we can go back now. As the Cazaron Espada, we shall help you in any way we can." Nagato stood up.

"I'm truly sorry for all the trouble we have caused. Please allow us to make up for it by helping you." Ayame mimicked her brother and stood. "We have a general idea of where to look in Hueco Mundo using this place as a refrence point."

"Alright." Rukia began, "So we wait for a team to show up, then, we'll need one of you two to open up Garganta so we can get to Hueco Mundo. We'll go from there." Rukia concluded by standing up.

Ichigo and Renji followed suit. "So how long do you think it'll take for them to send us a team?" Ichigo asked. Within seconds, his question was answered. The same wooden door that had been seen twice before appeared again. It slid open and revealed four bodies. Once the light faded, they could be seen clearly. "Toshiro?! They sent a team already?!" Ichigo said in disbelief. A short white-haired boy stepped forward looking slightly annoyed.

"That's Captain Hitsugaya to you!"


	3. Chapter 3

The group was growing larger. Kisuke remained sitting on one side of the table with a contented smile on his face. Yoruichi had stood up and simply looked down at the white-haired boy. The white haired boy closed his eyes and put on an annoyed face. The three people standing behind him just stood back silently. The two Espada looked at the new arrivals with both fear, and anger. Nagato leered at the short boy. Ayame stood behind her brother, slightly more scared than she should have been. "Calm down Ayame." Nagato glanced over his shoulder. "And you! Ya little white-haired punk! Who do you think you're barking at?" Nagato leaned forward and down to the captain's eye level. Hitsugaya's eyebrow twitched in annoyance.

"I am the Captain of the Tenth Division! And I shall not be spoken to by such an ingrate in such a tone!" Hitsugaya growled. Hitsugaya leaned closer to the Arrancar and glared at him.

"Brother, Captain Hitsugaya, can we please stop?" Ayame pleaded.

"Yeah Captain, can't we all get along?" asked a woman from behind him. Nagato and Ayame glanced behind the short captain and saw a taller woman. She had long, wavy, ginger hair going to her waist. She had icy blue eyes, and a beauty mark below the right side of her full lips. What stood out most was her rather large bosom. Her robes were open a bit to let her ample self hang out a bit. She had a pink scarf over her shoulders. A band of cloth was tied to the sash at her waist. There was a small gold emblem on it, with the character for ten and a picture of a daffodil.

"Silence Rangiku." he said coldly. "You know Arrancar can not be trusted." Rangiku looked down at her captain with worry and disappointment in her eyes. she looked at the two Arrancar with the same expression. She stepped back. Her expression faded and she remained silent. "Now, before I continue, why am I being called here?"

"To save the world!" Kisuke announced. he waved his arms in a dramatic and idiotic fashion. Yoruichi raised her arm, and slapped the back of his head.

"Even if that is true you don't do that in such a stupid way!" Yoruichi reprimanded him. He rubbed the back of his throbbing head. "Like I said he is technically correct. you're here to help save the world from plunging into total chaos." Yoruichi explained to the shorter captain. Nagato stepped forward a bit.

"Not that this isn't wonderful and all, but if I'm working with people who hate me, I want to know some names." he said. He folded his arms across his chest. Hitsugaya stepped aside. The ginger haired woman stepped forward.

"Lieutenent of Squad Ten, Rangiku Matsumoto."

"I'm Ayame Hayashi." Ayame said with a smile. Rangiku grabbed her and pulled her into a suffocating hug.

"It's so wonderful to meet you!" Rangiku shouted. Hitsugaya's and Nagato's eye brows twitched.

"What about you two?" Nagato asked, looking to the other two. The first of the two stepped up.

"Co-Third Seat of Squad Ten, Aiko Jisei, it's a pleasure to make your acquiantance." The girl bowed to the group. She was slightly taller than her captain, and looked a bit older than him. She had silver hair. There was a long braid at the back of her skull that went to her waist. The rest was cut at her chin. She had hazel eyes that seemed calm with a secret mischeif smoldering in the background. She wore the normal Soul Reaper attire, though the sleeves stopped at about mid forearm, showing long dark gray sleeves clinging to her arms. She had a sword on her left hip. The handle was a pale red, and the cross guard was in the shape of a ten pointed star. "Is that all they need Captain?" she asked turning to Hitsugaya. He nodded and she stepped back. The other took a step forward.

"Co-Third Seat of Squad Ten, Masaru Sekainohate." He bowed quickly. He had short, straight dark blue hair. His violet eyes looked scared, shy, and looked like they had an unused enthusiasim in them. He was around the same height as the girl, and looked about the same age. He had on the normal Soul Reaper attire, only he wore white fingerless leather gloves. He also had on black socks, and his straw sandals were white as opposed to the tan color that was the norm. His sword was across his back, going from his right shoulder to his left hip. The handle was black and white. The cross guard was a circle, with one half of the circle having small golden spikes sticking out of it. The white-haired boy nodded at him. Masaru looked surprised and embarressed. He quickly backed away and stood next to Aiko.

"Idiot." Aiko muttered.

"Please don't insult me Aiko. You know what happens if I get angry." Mazaru said timidly.

"Knock it off you two." Hitsugaya looked back at them. Masaru looked at the ground, his hair falling over his face. Aiko looked away from them with a slight hmph. "As I was saying. The team will consist of myself, Shihoin, Abarai, Kuchiki, Kurosaki, Matsumoto, Jisei, Sekainohate, and," Hitsugaya glanced at the two Arrancar. "Fujimoto and Hayashi."

"Correct." Renji spoke. "As far as we know, we are to be going to Hueco mundo to stop Aizen from finding that realm's equivalent of the Sōkyoko."

"The only problem is, we have no idea where to look for it." Ichigo said.

"Actually this is where you are wrong." Nagato said. "You see, most of you know of the structure of Aizen's fortress, Las Noches." Nagato sat in front of the table. He tapped it with his finger and a small window seemed to open with panels. The opening showed a far off glimpse of Las Noches. "It is were most if not all Espada, Numeros, and other Arrancar live. This however takes place above ground, or at least within a few floors below ground. However, the structure goes much deeper than that. The structure actualy extends under ground into what would be the sky of The Forest of Menos. However, that portion can only be accessed by going down from the portion of the palace above ground."

"Wait a second, before you keep going, what the heck is that window thing?" Ichigo asked, pointing to said window.

"It's called Garganta Broadcast. It allows one to see into Hueco Mundo from the Human World and vice-versa." Nagato explained.

"So people can see in through this portal as well?" Rukia asked pointing at it. Nagato nodded. "Shouldn't we be worried about that?"

"No, because in all actuality, this is much further out then you can tell. As you know, Las Noches is so huge, it can be seen from almost anywhere in Hueco Mundo."

"See, we'd need to use Garagnta to get to Hueco Mundo, however, we can't get right to where we need to be." Ayame explained.

"Why?" Hitsugaya asked, a hint of anger in his voice. Ayame cringed a bit at his voice.

"Because, even though this thing is in Hueco Mundo, it also _isn't_ in Hueco Mundo." Nagato cut in. He glared at Hitsugaya.

"What do you mean it's there but isn't?" Aiko asked calmly.

"It means that even though this weapon is in Hueco Mundo, it can't be accessed directly." Nagato reached towards the portal and tapped out one finger, as if there was a keyboard. The portal changed and showed what appeared to be a shelf of scrolls. Nagato reached through and grabbed the one labeled 'The Legend of the Sacred Blades.' "According to the records Aizen has of the past in all worlds, these items were originally created to keep any other form of Spiritual being from getting to powerful. The Spirit King gave one to each plain of existence. One went to the Soul Society as the Sōkyoku, one went to Hueco Mundo as the Kōkyōkyoku and one went to the Human World as the Kakyoku. In each plain of existence, they were guarded by the dominant species of the realm. However, just like what is about to happen, the different worlds used these weapons as a means to take power over the other worlds. This lead to a three way battle amongst the realms, with the leader of each realm leading the charge. This is actually how the first Captian-Commander was born, as well as the first Arrancar, as well as humans like the Quincy." Nagato continued on.

"During the war, it was realized that everytime these weapons clashed, the immense shockwaves alone were beginning to destroy the different worlds. If one of them actually succeeded, and won the war and the weapons, that one person could not control their power, and would be destroyed, along with the worlds. So, under decree of The Spirit King, the weapons were sealed behind barriers and were told to never be used again. And so they weren't for a long while." Nagato concluded.

"But the Sōkyoku wasn't behind a barrier. It was used for execution." Renji interjected. "Your information must be wrong."

"No, my information is not inaccurate, I was not finished. I knew the Sōkyoku was unsealed and used for execution in the Soul Society." Nagato explained.

"This doesn't make any sense." Yoruichi spoke. "The Shihoin family has one of the vastest knowledges of the Soul Society and it's history, second only to the Kuchiki family, and I have never even heard of this war, much less the sealing of these other weapons." Yoruichi spoke in an almost cocky tone.

"Dammit will you people stop interrupting!" Masaru shouted. Everyone turned to him. Since he was quiet except for his introduction, no one expected him to make such an outburst. "Well, I'm trying to hear so I can take notes." Masaru returned to his timid nature. He was holding a small notepad and a pen.

"Relax Masaru, we don't want you getting angry." Rangiku leaned down and palced her hand on his shoulder. "We wouldn't want _him_ to appear, now would we?" He shook his head and looked back down at his notepad. "You were saying?"

"Anyway, the reason there is no record is because either they weren't made, or they were destroyed. However, as Arrancar, we like to flaunt the fact that the Soul Reapers screwed up, so we kept the record." He put the scroll back and did another tapping motion. Another shelf of scrolls was displayed before him. He picked up the one labeled 'Releasing of the Sacred Blade and Downfall of the Second Captain Commander.' "This scroll tells all. It tells of how once the first Captain Commander died, and his replacement was named, things in the Soul Society began to change. Back then, crime wasn't heard of within the walls of the Soul Society. In his eyes, the Captain Commander was merely a figure head. As such, he decided to take control of the souls he was suppose to protect. You see, using the King's Key, the strongest unsealing artifact in history, he unlocked the barrier keeping the Sōkyoku's power in check, and took the weapon for himself. Using it's power, he began instilling fear into the people of the Soul Society. This is also how the Central 46 came to be, along with the Onmitsukido. The Onmitsukido captured the Captain Commander and he was brought before the Central 46, whose members were appointed by the Spirit King. They ruled that he be sentenced to death for taking advantage of his position and using an artifact to unseal a dangerous weapon. So they used that very weapon to execute him. Thus, Sōkyoku Hill came to be. Afterwards, since the Seal could not be recreated, they simply kept the blade unsealed but under control. So it's remained that way until it was destroyed by those captains."

"You mean Captain Kyōraku and Captain Ukitake?" Rukia questioned.

"If that is their names, then yes, those two. They used an artifact of the Shihoin family's to destroy it. If we plan on destroying the weapons, then we'll need that shield again." Ayame cut in.

"Who says we need to destroy them?" Aiko asked. "If we take them can't we use them to finally defeat Aizen?"

"We could, except as I stated, the power can not be controlled by just one person. If we tried to wield them, we'd need more spiritual power than the Spirit King himself. The only way to do that is, well, we can't do it actually. No one but the Spirit King can hold that much power without being destroyed by it. So it isn't possible. The only way to make sure the weapons aren't used against us is to destroy them." Nagato continued on.

"Say there was a way though. It would be possible to use them against him then, right?" Aiko asked. She had an evil smirk on.

"Aiko, get those thoughts out of your head. You're already on thin ice from the last time you angered me." Hitsugaya turned and glared at her. She quickly silenced and looked away. "So we need to go to the Soul Society to get the Shihoin Shield before we can do anything." Hitsugaya turned and drew his sword. He held it out in front of him. "Rangiku, I'll take you and go retrieve the shield from Captain Ukitake. Meanwhile, can the rest of you start heading for Hueco Mundo?" Hitsugaya asked looking over his shoulder.

"Yes sir!" said the two third seats. The rest of the group nodded.

"Alright. Nagato, Ayame. Open Garganta and get going." Hitsugaya opened the gate to the Soul Society. He and Rangiku disappeared in a flash of white light. Nagato turned and placed the scroll back in the mini portal. He closed it. He turned and opened another portal. The portal opened in it's nomal segmented pattern, revealing an opening of darkness and swirling energy.

"Shall we be heading out?" Ayame asked with a smile. The small group exchanged glances and nodded.

"Urahara," Rukia said. The man looked at her. "Make sure this place is safe. We'll return as soon as possible. If you notice any strange changes in this world, contact us." Rukia said seriously.

"Don't I always?" Kisuke said with a strange smile. Yoruichi slapped him again.

"Seriously Kisuke, make sure this place is safe. I don't want to have to regret bringing us here if it means we're just going to lose it all." Yoruichi looked at him sternly.

"It'll be fine! Now get going and save the universe from total annihilation!" Kisuke shouted happily.

"But no pressure at all right?" Aiko asked blandly.

"Of course not!"

"Urahara if you survive dying at the hands of Aizen's men, you won't survive dying by my hand." Rukia said glaring at him.

"I'm sure." Kisuke waved his hand at her. Rukia's eyebrow twitched. The small group turned and began walking into the open portal.

"I hope things go well, for all our sakes." Nagato said to himself. the last of the group walked through the portal. It close, leaving no trace of itself behind.


End file.
